Idaho murder suspect Bryan Kohberger has received a “disturbing” amount of mail from fans as he awaits trial behind bars, according to a report.
An unnamed employee at the Latah County Jail, where Mr Kohberger remains in custody following his 30 December arrest, told The Messenger that more than two dozen letters have been sent to the quadruple murder suspect.
Mr Kohberger, a former PhD criminology student at Washington State University, is charged with the 13 November fatal stabbings of University of Idaho students Kyalee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin.
“He gets these letters a couple [of] times a week,” the insider told the outlet, noting that other staff at the facility have found the letters extremely odd. “They’re usually handwritten with hearts and stars. Coloured envelopes.”
In the aftermath of the murders and Mr Kohberger’s arrest six weeks later, true crime fans have also flocked to online forums to fill an information gap left by authorities — who first cited the integrity of the investigation as the reason they did not share details about the probe, and now are banned from speaking about the case due to a gag order.
Earlier this year, a disturbing Reddit grew to more than 500 members before it was banned from the platform for violating Reddit’s Moderator Code of Conduct.
In addition to spreading misinformation and conspiracy theories, some of those online communities featured overtly sexual comments, as well as collages of Mr Kohberger’s photos.
Last week, the prosecution handed over 10,000 photos, 9,000 tips and several hours of video and audio to the defence. Mr Kohberger’s public defence attorney Ann Taylor stated in a previously filed discovery request that some of that evidence “may contain exculpatory evidence.”
Mr Kohberger has not entered a plea but said earlier this year, via a public defender, that he “was eager to be exonerated.”
Goncalves’s father Steve Goncalves told ABC News last week that he is looking forward to Mr Kohberger’s next hearing on 26 June.
“I can’t wait to see the evidence. ... And then I’m gonna bring it,” Mr Goncalves said. “And he’s gonna realise that this ... is the family that’s gonna make sure he doesn’t get away with it.”
Mr Kohberger has been linked to the crimes by DNA evidence, cellphone data and surveillance video of what prosecutors believe is his white Hyundai Elantra leaving the scene, according to the arrest affidavit.
Another roommate, who survived the attack, was also able to partially describe the killer to investigators after she came face-to-face with him. The murder weapon, a fixed-blade knife, was not recovered during searches and remains missing.
Two warrants obtained by The Independent show that investigators collected a Glock .40 calibre gun, empty gun magazines, a knife, a pocket knife, black face masks, black gloves, electronic devices, and clothing items from the home of Mr Kohberger’s parents in Pennsylvania where he was arrested.
The family home was raided on 30 December, the same day that a search was also carried out at Mr Kohberger’s apartment in Pullman, Washington a 15-minute drive from the crime scene in Moscow.
The Washington warrant revealed that investigators seized a “collection of dark red” spotting and a pillow with a “reddish/brown stain” at Mr Kohberger’s apartment. At least two items seized from that search tested positive for blood.
